Would You do it Again?
by Darthmooster
Summary: A short story in which Anna and Elsa flee a revolutionary uprising. As a result of the events that transpire, Anna begins to wonder if her entire life has been completely meaningless...


"Anna! Wake up NOW!" Elsa screamed, frantically shaking her sister.

"Huh? Elsa, what's going on?" Anna responded groggily, still half-asleep.

"We have to get out IMMEDIATELY. Everyone else has probably made it to the outer wall by now."

"What? Who made it where?"

"Just get up and follow me, I'll explain on the way." Elsa snapped as she all but threw Anna out of bed

"The few guards and citizens who are still loyal to us have already evacuated the city. We'll likely be the last ones out." Elsa explained as the hurried through the castle interior, taking the utmost care not to make any unnecessary noise.

"It was Hans, wasn't it?" Anna asked, clenching her fists as she spat out the name.

"Yeah… he and his group of underground rebels finally made their move. They had far more support than I originally anticipated. We have to evacuate the kingdom and plan our next course of action."

As Elsa continued her explanation, the two girls neared the end of the corridor. The only thing left between them and the outside world was a large, wooden door. As Anna reached for the handle, Elsa abruptly grabbed her hand. "Shhhh, wait. I hear something…" Elsa placed her ear to the door and listened…

"Haahahhah! Loyal to the queen, he says. We'll just see about that…" POW! Elsa heard a dull thud, followed by a cry of pain. WHACK! Another thud. POW! The sounds continued for almost a full minute. Elsa felt a cold sweat drip down the back of her neck. "Knock it off, you," boomed a commanding voice. "Stop playing with your damn food. We've got hundreds more where this one came from."

"All right, all right. Let's get this over with then. Pass me that axe, will you?"

"They're going to kill him!" Anna shrieked, barely able to control the volume of her outcry. "We have to do something! We have to…"

"No, Anna. I'm not risking your life for the life of some… peasant. Just wait until they're gone."

"What!? You're just going to let him die?"

"What else do you expect me to do? I can't save him and protect you, and you're more important."

"No life is more important than any other. I'll prove it." With that, Anna pushed Elsa aside and flung the door open.

Two men stood just across from them, staring in confusion at the sudden appearance of two young girls. An instant later, a blast of ice flew past Anna's head. It collided with one of the men, piercing his head. Another shot followed suit, striking the second man down.

"You see? I told you that you could…" Anna trailed off as the turned back towards her sister. Elsa was staring at her hands as though there were foreign to her; a look of horror pervaded her eyes.

When she realized that Anna was staring at her, Elsa quickly dropped her arms and looked the girl straight in the eyes. "And what would you have done if there were more of them, hmm? What if they had crossbows? What if they were quicker to react? We'd all be dead right now, Anna! All of my work would be for nothing!"

"My queen! T… thank you… very much… for saving me…" the trembling man interjected. Elsa could see a combination of relief and fear in his eyes.

"I'm just trying to protect you, Anna. Please don't risk yourself like that again…" Elsa reprimanded her sister in a hushed tone as they walked past the man and continued towards the outskirts of the kingdom.

"Thank you!" the man yelled after them again, just before they were out of earshot. Elsa briefly glanced back in time to see him making a heroic effort just to stand up…

The two sisters continued to creep towards the border of Arendelle. They hadn't encountered any other signs of life since those men. Nevertheless, they were constantly on the lookout. After several more minutes, the outer wall was finally within sight. They just had to cross this, and they'd be…

CLANK! Anna brushed against an abandoned market stall, knocking a pot on to the ground. Elsa whirled around and angrily glared at Anna. "Hey! I think I heard something out there." A man's voice suddenly pierced the silence.

"Shhhh, get down." Elsa hissed, shoving Anna to the ground and crouching behind a box. They were hardly covered, but it was the best she could manage.

"I think it came from over here. I'm gonna go check it out."

(Shit shit shit shit… I need to think of something NOW). Elsa's mind was racing. She glanced down at her sister, who was staring back at her anxiously. She had to protect this girl, no matter what…

Suddenly, a light rounded the corner and enveloped them. "Woah, fuck! There're two girls here, quick!" the light's owner yelled. Completely out of options, Elsa grabber her sister and ran. "Hey, get back here, you!" The man shouted after them. Elsa could hear his footsteps as he ran after them.

"Out of the way, I've got them," came a second man's voice. Elsa heard a soft click from behind her. It took a moment for her mind to register the reality of what was about to happen.

"NOOOOOOO!" Anna screamed, wrenching her arm out of Elsa's hand and running back towards the men. Elsa hardly had time to turn around before a black bolt erupted from the back of her sister's head. She feebly collapsed to the ground as life left her body.

Swirling. Floating. Ethereal. Anna had no idea what was happening. All of her senses were spinning. Everywhere she looked, she saw a constantly changing mass of… stuff. At least, she thought she was looking. It was hard to tell… Everything was so confused…

"Princess Anna of Arendelle. You have paid the toll in place of another. What is it you expected to accomplish?" A voice echoed inside her head.

"I… what? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I am many things. I am what comes after. I am the propagation of life. I am the gatekeeper and the debt collector. From your own mind, however, I believe it would be the most accurate for you to refer to me as 'god.'"

All at once, her memories flooded back to her. She could recall everything with amazing clarity, even the minute details of the first minutes of her life. The shock caused her to briefly forget what was going on.

"Aaaahhh, good. I see that you remember now." The potent voice immediately brought her back to what was left of her senses. "Your life was an interesting one, indeed. In fact, I have one question to ask of you. Everything that you did, all the sacrifices you made, every choice and every mistake: would you do it again?"

Anna didn't even have to hesitate. "Of course I would. No one life is more important than any other. I would die for Elsa a thousand times if I could."

"Ooooohhhh, really now? How very interesting… Are you so sure?"

"Of cou…" Anna was cut off by a massive rush of memories. This time, it even included things that she had never experienced before. She was only overwhelmed for a moment before she began to see a vision.

She saw herself as a child. She was asking Elsa to come out and play. Meanwhile, the older girl was alone in her room, crying. Her pleas served only to cause the girl further grief. Anna couldn't help her… she hadn't even known…

She saw herself years later, working with a young boy that had been arrested for stealing food. He had no parents, and Anna had gone to visit him every day and talk to him. She felt her heart leap with excitement when the day finally came for the boy to be released. She had worked so hard to help him, and had at last succeeded in turning him in to a fine young man. Then, she saw something that she hadn't been aware of during her own life time. Within a few hours of his release, the boy had already stolen a piece of bread. He quickly began to regress back to his old ways. Years later, the boy is in a fight with two shopkeepers. He had been caught trying to steal again. He tries to attack one of them out of rage, and is overpowered. He falls, hits his head on a rock and dies. All of Anna's work dies with him…

She then saw herself standing outside a door with Elsa. She recognized the scene immediately: it had been less than an hour before she died. She saw Elsa save the defenseless man. She saw how Elsa seemed afraid of her own hands. It was the first time she had ever deliberately used her powers to hurt someone. Similar to the previous vision, however, her own memory was soon replaced with something new. Anna saw the man that they had saved struggling to stand. After several minutes, he finally managed to get up. His whole body was shaking from the exertion. Another man abruptly approached from the side. He yelled something angrily, staring in disbelief at the two dead men in front of him. He grabbed the feeble man by the collar and began to shake him. Then he punched him. Then again. And again. And again. Soon, the man had been beaten to death. She had risked herself to save his life… for nothing….

Finally, she saw her dear sister. Elsa was standing over her broken body, weeping bitterly. Three more corpses lay across from her, each pierced countless times by tiny icicles…

The vision continued, and she now saw Elsa years later. She had taken back the kingdom from the rebels. Anna watched in horror as her sister walked down a line of prisoners, individually ordering the death of every single one of them. She watched as Elsa finally came to the end of the line, where Hans was bound. She could feel the pure hatred in Elsa's eyes. She could hardly watch what came next: as Elsa personally took charge of Hans' punishment. This wasn't the same Elsa she had sacrificed herself for…

At last, she saw her sister, once again several years after the previous vision. She saw as she ruled Arendelle with an iron fist. The people were oppressed and miserable. The queen's will had become solid ice. She watched in horror as two men entered the castle by night. She recognized one of them: Kristoff. She saw the men silently kill several guards as they made their way through the castle. And she watched with a mixture of horror and regret as Kristoff drove a knife through the sleeping Queen's heart, shattering it into countless pieces. She had given her own life… for this?

When the vision finally ended, Anna felt overwhelmed by the flood of emotions. She would have cried if she still could. What seemed like an eternity passed as Anna desperately tried to make sense of what was going on. Her whole life… all her hard work… even her sacrifice… had it all been for nothing? Had her entire life been futile? She couldn't think straight… She just wanted to curl in in a ball and forget everything…

"I will ask you one last time." A powerful voice at last boomed in her head, mercilessly forcing her back in to reality. Anna was afraid. She knew nothing but absolute terror and all-consuming remorse. She didn't want to admit… she couldn't admit… that… that… that all her… her….

"Would you do it again?"


End file.
